GENDER DISCRIMINATION

Gender Discrimination in Sport

Gender Discrimination in Sport

Introduction

Gender inequality is also reinforced within the workplace. One major way this occurs is through gender discrimination. Gender discrimination is treating individuals differently specifically because of an individual's gender (Butler, 1999). In many developed countries, discrimination is illegal regardless of whether it is based on sex or gender or both sex and gender. The ways in which gender discrimination occurs tend to be subtle and complex. Gender discrimination is often difficult to prove. Gender discrimination in sports is the most widely discussed form of gender discrimination and will be the focus of the remainder of this entry.

Sports are an important vehicle for the transmission of dominant values and systems of privilege, particularly those built upon race, class, gender, and sexuality inequality (Lenskyj, 1986). One of the many ways this is accomplished is through the erasure of homosexuality from sport and sports culture. In both men's and women's sports, homosexuality is routinely sanctioned and silenced, such that the number of “out” collegiate and professional gay athletes remains markedly low, even as homosexuality becomes less stigmatised in other social arenas. For men, sports are often used as a way of fortifying masculinity and asserting male dominance. Open homosexuality is perceived as a threat to these social accomplishments and is thus suppressed. In women's sports, homophobia coincides with a history of gender discrimination in sports to create a hostile environment for lesbian athletes. Despite the oppressively heterosexist environment that sport engenders, a number of athletes and activists have begun to challenge homosexual invisibility in sport. Although sports and homosexuality continue to be held in ideological tension, recent institutional and social changes suggest the promise of a more accepting environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans-gender (LGBT) athletes and fans. This entry discusses the relationship between masculinity, sports, and homophobia, the relationship between lesbians and gender discrimination in sports, and some contemporary responses to homophobia in sports.

Masculinity, Sports, and Homophobia

Most social scientists consider masculinity and femininity to be socially constructed achievements. The concept of hegemonic masculinity is used to describe the normative characteristics of masculinity that all men are expected to strive toward (and yet most, if not all, fall short of). These characteristics include aggression, strength, drive, self-determination, and lack of emotion. Because the standards of hegemonic masculinity are so difficult to meet, men engage in a variety of strategies to help shore up their masculine identities; among these, sports play a key role. Through engaging in sports that emphasise these characteristics, men find one potent avenue toward the achievement of the masculine ideal. The historical relegation of women to the sporting sidelines in roles such as cheerleaders bolsters the importance of sport to masculine identity construction.

One of the most enduring features of hegemonic masculinity is its association with heterosexuality. The hegemonic man is supposed to be heterosexually oriented above all else. For sports to continue to serve as a venue for hegemonic masculinity building, homosexuality must be actively ...